The Tragic Flaws of a Noble Hero Julius Caesar no doubt is an utter tragedy, which contains disloyalty, betrayal, and corruption. Every character has a certain role in the play. But the most complex character would have to be Marcus Brutus. I believe that Brutus is a tragic hero in this play because he presents many different qualities involving nobility, high birth and of course a tragic flaw. . Marcus Brutus is of noble standing and devours many flaws. The first flaw that in ways led him to his downfall is his trustworthy nature. Brutus is told by Cassius that he should become king of Rome and Caesar shouldn’t be, Cassius told Brutus that it would be for the better of Rome. And of course Brutus believed him about it being better for …show more content…
Everything Brutus did was for the benefit of someone else, even though Brutus deceived Caesar it wasn’t because he cared or loved him less but he honestly believed it was for the people and Rome. Brutus seemed nervous to kill Caesar because he loved him but he didn’t back out because he was standing up for Rome and the people of Rome, I believe that really contribute to his Noble personality. Another sacrifice is when he talks about not telling his wife Portia about his plans to kill Caesar. Brutus decided not to tell her because she already has enough stress in her life and doesn’t want her to worry nor deal with his plans. Brutus really showed his Nobility when he was giving his funeral speech when he says “I have the same dagger for …show more content…
Brutus showed his naivetés right in the beginning of the play when he trusted Cassius and the notes that were thrown in his window. Brutus didn’t even realize that his “closes” friends would deceive him. Brutus also shows his naivetés when he allowed Antony to speak at the funeral of Caesar. “You shall not in you funeral speech blame us but speak all good you can devise of Caesar and say you do’t by our permission.” Brutus trusted Antony to speak and trusted he would only say good things about him and the conspirators. That was honestly his fatalist flaw because soon as Antony got up there Brutus left trusting Antony and that is when the battle started. Antony told the people of Rome the truth and turned them against Brutus which led Brutus to fleeing with the other conspirators. Brutus finally realized when he and the other conspirators fled that Cassius wasn’t what he claimed to be after all. Brutus then realized that he shouldn’t have trusted as much and it took his all the pain of losing his loved ones to see this. His naivetés led him to losing his wife Portia, his best friend Caesar, and his own
Although Brutus attempts to act with honor, and despite the fact that he places all of his trust into the honor of others, there are times when Brutus fails to see the most simple and obvious things, such as clear manipulation by Cassius, and this simple flaw leads him to betray his friend and his honor.
Throughout the entire play, Brutus proves to have Rome’s best interest in mind and strives to be honorable. In the beginning of the play, Brutus is talking to Cassius and he remarks, “set honor in one eye and death i' th' other, and I will look on both indifferently, for let the gods so speed me as I love the name of honor more than I fear death” (1.2.88-91). Brutus feels very strongly about having a humble mindset. Brutus is so humble that he worries more about
Both Caesar and Brutus have a tragic flaw. In the beginning of the play a soothsayer is telling Caesar to beware the ides of march Caesar Responds “He is a dreamer; Brutus leave him. Pass” (shakespeare page??? line????) When Caesar tells the soothsayer this it shows that he does not believe that he could be harmed. Just like caesar, Brutus suffered a tragic flaw, his being trusting everyone. After Caesar is dead Antony wants to say a speech at Caesar 's funeral, after making the crowd violent says “Now let it work. Mischief, thou art afoot, take thou the course thou wilt.”(shakespeare3.2.266-264). Brutus trusted Antony to say some nice words about Caesar, instead he turn the crowd violent. Caesar and Brutus love the roman people and would sacrifice anything for them. after Caesar dies Antony reads “ to every roman citizen he gives, to every several man, seventy-five drachmas”( page lines title). Caesar loved the romans so much he gave them all a bit of his money after he died. Even though he was prideful he loved the romans as much as Brutus. Brutus saw that under Caesar 's rule romans were suffering and says” Not that i love Caesar less, but that I loved/Rome more”(?) He Explains why he felt
Minor characteristics involved in virtue are honorability, respectability, dignity, integrity, nobility, purity, and rectitude. Brutus clearly shows all of these characteristics throughout the play. For example, he killed his friend Caesar, but only to protect Rome from Caesar. He clearly did this out of love and respect for Rome and out of dignity and nobility. But this action was slightly unconsciously hypocritical. Brutus believed that in spite of Caesar being his friend, assassinating him was the right thing to do for his country. But only because Cassius put it in his mind that is was. All of the other conspirators stabbed Caesar before Brutus. But when Brutus stabbed him, it was literally like getting stabbed in the back by your best friend. “Et tu, Bruté?—Then fall, Caesar.” (3.1.84) Caesar asks “You too Brutus?”, as if he didn’t expect Brutus to be the one to kill him. But even though this affected Brutus, he had to do this for his country. Unconscious hypocrisy is also an important characteristic of Brutus. There are many instances in which Brutus said that something was cowardly but he had the same thing or something similar. The reason he did those things is because Cassius manipulated him to do them. So he was expressing his beliefs but acting out Cassius’ manipulations on
Brutus’ tragic flaw was his perception that all men were identical to him in their motives. This factored allowed his decisions to be easily influenced by others whose motives were devious. Cassius was able to convince Brutus to join the conspiracy because Brutus thought the only reason behind the conspiracy was to prevent one man from becoming “Rex.” He allowed Antony’s speech to occur because he was sure that Antony was motivated by the same “honor” which motivated himself.
Brutus’s flaw to be persuaded easily allowed him to become gullible. Cassius longed for him to become a conspirator so their devious plan of killing Caesar would fall into place. Brutus was known for being a loyal person, which meant everyone would fall to his feet
Brutus was a very selfish and self-centered person. He continually ignored Cassius’ and the conspirators’ ideas. He was the leader and everyone was supposed to go along with them. Not to mention that all of his decisions went against Cassius and they were all the wrong moves. Brutus refused to admit that he was wrong or listen to other people.
Throughout most of the play Brutus is constantly internally conflicted. Does he do what he believes is best for Rome or stay loyal to his friend and leader? Should he assist in the murder of one person to benefit many? Although killing Caesar was in the end a bad choice, Brutus always tries to do what is best for Rome and for the people. However even though all of Brutus’ motives are good he still has the tragic flaw of pride, which ultimately leads to his downfall. The reason that Brutus gets caught up in the conspiracy is because Cassias appeals to his pride and flatters him with forged letters from the Roman people saying he is a greater leader then Caesar.
For example, when Brutus grants Antony permission to speak at Caesar’s funeral, he states, “You shall not… blame us/… and say you do’t by our permission” (3.1.270-272). Despite warnings from the astute Cassius, Brutus naively allows Antony to speak at the funeral. Antony abides by Brutus’ instructions to not “blame” the senators but with his eloquence, Antony manages to refute Brutus’ own speech. Trusting Antony led to Brutus’ eventual downfall. While it is true that Brutus is naive, nevertheless, he still leads truthfully and logically. Throughout the play, Brutus has never once lied about his intentions. With every action that he makes, Brutus provides a reasoning or an explanation for it. To illustrate, Brutus provides an explanation for Caesar’s assassination at his funeral, “There are tears for his love, joy for his fortune, honor/for his valor, and death for his ambition” (3.2.29-30). Brutus appeals to logos by demonstrating that there are different outcomes for the different things Caesar does. If Caesar is fortunate, there is “joy” so it would make sense that Caesar should receive “death for his ambition”. The word naive means to lack in wisdom yet with his articulate ways, Brutus convinces the plebeians that killing Caesar is a good decision in his judgement. He makes the fellow Romans forget about his potential lack of visibility by leading honestly and logically. Brutus is able to lead
His tragic flaw is that he trusts people too much and is easily manipulated. The real reason for him joining the conspiracy was because he “loved Caesar but loved Rome more. Marcus Brutus joins the conspiracy because he thought that he is preventing Caesar’s tyranny. He also thinks that by joining the conspiracy he is saving the people of Rome. He also trusts . After entering the conspiracy, he became responsible for Caesar’s death, which led to a civil war, which led to Brutus’s death. Brutus’ downfall is caused by his tragic
Brutus’ final flaw is his idealism. His idealism leads him to believe everything that everybody tells him. His idealism causes him to believe in Antony and Cassius. Cassius uses Brutus’ idealism by getting him to believe that they are killing Caesar for the betterment of Rome. Antony uses the idealism to get to talk to the com Brutus’ tragic flaws are part of what makes him a tragic hero. In Julius Caesar, Brutus is a great example of a tragic hero. His tragic flaws are honor, poor judgement, and idealism (Bedell). In Shakespeare’s plays, the tragic hero and his flaws cause the downfall of the play (Tragic Flaws).
Brutus’ ignorance creates an expectation that develops a path which leads him awry. When Brutus mentions,“ I would not Cassius; yet I love him well” (1.2.81-88 ), he portrays his internal conflict. Brutus depicts the rendering struggle between Cassius’ acquisitions and Caesar’s actions. His oblivion toward the truth and goodwill concerning the greater health of Rome prompt him astray. He acts with the innocence of a child, deceive and swindle by Cassius, Brutus is an
Brutus has several tragic flaws. One of these tragic flaws is how he trusts people a lot. Brutus says that he “know[s] that we shall have [Antony] well to a friend” (1140). He trusts Antony will be a friend of the conspirators, yet he seems to not realize that Antony is obliviously against them, because they killed his friend. Brutus trusts Antony so much, that he lets Antony speak to the public alone. Antony turns the people against Brutus and the conspirators, leading to the wars where Brutus takes his own life. Brutus also receives letters, supposedly from the people of Rome. As he reads the letter out loud, Brutus remarks “‘Speak, strike, redress!’ Am I entreated to speak and strike? O Rome, I make thee promise, if thy redress will follow, thy receivest thy full petition at the hand of Brutus” (1118).
Throughout the play, Brutus speaks about honor and his loyalty to his country. These two concepts become major conflicts for him when it comes to his friendship and loyalty to Caesar. Brutus life is conducted by the concept of honor. He constantly throughout the play speaks of how honorable he is and how honorable men should live. He 's very proud of how Romans view him as a noble and honorable man, who fights for what is right and is always following the moral and ethical code. Brutus ends up using the concept of honor and loyalty to his country as a reason why Caesar must die. He 's convinced that his countrymen will thank him for saving them from a tyrant and that Rome would be much better off without Caesar, but it ends up being a big miscalculation
Brutus also frequently demonstrated many acts of affection toward others. In Act 1, Scene 2, he is reluctant to join Cassius's conspiracy because he did not want to betray Caesar. He had to weigh his choices and in Act 3, Scene 2, Brutus kills Caesar only because he is afraid of what will happen to Rome if Caesar remains ruler. He knew the commoners life would be difficult with the ruling of Caesar. He realizes what a honorable man Caesar was. This is shown again in the same Act and Scene when Brutus allows Mark Antony to speak at Caesar's funeral even though Cassius highly disagreed. Brutus realized Caesar deserved an proper ceremony, and that the best way to do that would be to let Caesar's best friend speak.